UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Friday said that Pakistan and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries would propose further steps to combat Islamophobia, including the appointment of a Special Envoy, creation of an Islamophobia data Centre, legal assistance to victims and an accountability process to punish Islamophobic crimes.
In his address at the 78th UNGA session, the prime minister said that last year, this Assembly adopted a resolution, proposed by Pakistan on behalf of the OIC, declaring 15 March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Earlier this year, the Human Rights Council adopted an OIC resolution submitted by Pakistan, urging the states to outlaw the burning of the Holy Quran and similar provocations, he added.
He also welcomed the legislation initiated by Denmark and contemplated by Sweden towards this end.
“While Islamophobia is an age-old phenomenon; however, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it has assumed epidemic proportions, as manifested in the negative profiling of Muslims; and attacks on Islamic sites and symbols, such as the recent public burnings of the Holy Quran,” PM Kakar observed.
